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Massgrown Home Page
Your link to Massachusetts grown
and produced products!
"10 Good Reasons to Buy Locally Grown" Poster [PDF]
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Massachusetts Agriculture
Specialty License Plate
Support your local farmers by purchasing the Massachusetts Agriculture
specialty license plate.
Proceeds from these plates will go to the Massachusetts Agricultural Trust Fund.
The Trust will fund programs and services that help farmers remain on the cutting edge in today’s market, like innovative practices, research, improvements in managing resources, marketing, training and education. Proceeds will not be used to subsidize individual farmers or the state’s Department of Agriculture.
By purchasing this plate, you help preserve 520,000 acres of open space and the beauty of Massachusetts, our heritage, and local farming families. You protect 13,545 jobs and the value local agriculture has on our economy while reaping fresher and better tasting food. And you help shrink our carbon footprint by reducing the distance our food travels to market (normally 1,300 miles).
Total cost to transfer registration to an “ag tag” is $60 ($20 RMV fee to swap the plate plus $40 for a specialty plate). Renewals are $81 every two years ($41 RMV registration fee, and $40 for the specialty plate fee that continues to go to the Trust Fund).
A portion of this sale can be targeted to any agricultural organization below. All proceeds will go to the Agricultural Trust for distribution. To target $15 to a specific organization,* check one of the boxes in the downloadable form [PDF]. Otherwise, proceeds will stay with the Trust for future programs.
Last updated 8/1/07
Berkshire Grown
Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association
CISA—Pioneer Valley
Essex County—Buy Fresh
Lamb & Wool Board
Mass. Ag in the Classroom
Mass. Aquaculture Association
Mass. Beekeepers Association
Mass. Christmas Tree Growers
Mass. Cooperative Milk Producers Federation
Mass. Cultivated Blueberry Growers Association
Mass. Association of Dairy Farmers
Mass. Dairy Industry Promotion
Mass. Fairs Association
Mass. Farm Bureau Federation
Mass. Farm Wineries and Growers Association
Mass. Federation of Farmers Markets
Mass. Federation of Sheep Association
Mass. Flower Growers Association
Mass. Fruit Growers Association
Mass. Future Farmers of America
Mass. Maple Producers Association
Mass. Nursery & Landscape Association
Mass. Poultry Association
Mass. Roadside Stands and PYO Association
Mass. Specialty Foods Association
Mass. State Grange
Mass. Turkey Association
Massachusetts 4-H
N.E. Apple Growers Association
New Entry Sustainable Farming Project
N.E. Small Farm Institute
N.E. Sprout Growers Association
N.E. Vegetable & Berry Growers Association
Northeast Organic Farming Association
Pioneer Valley Growers Association
Red Tomato
SEMAP
Seeds of Solidarity Education Center
Agricultural Commission (Town Name)
Fair (Name)
Farmers Market (Name)
Farm Bureau County Bureau (County)
Food Bank (Name)
Other
Make checks payable to Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles for $40. Complete this downloadable form [PDF] and mail with your check to: Massachusetts Agricultural Trust, c/o Mary Greendale, P. O. Box 6443, Holliston, MA 01746-6443. $28 of this price is tax-deductible. Please note: we will send checks to RMV when we have sold 1,500 plates. That may take up to one year. Your check will be outstanding in your account for that time.
Thank you for supporting Agriculture by your purchase of a Massachusetts “Ag Tag.”
Your license plate purchase supports local Massachusetts farmers. |
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Bet you didn’t know that…
- Massachusetts ranks 1st nationally in value of average direct market sales per farm at $24,873 per farm.
- Massachusetts is 1st in New England for direct sales of farm products to consumers. At $31.3 million in direct sales, Massachusetts farmers were responsible for 38% of New England’s total.
- Massachusetts ranks 7th nationally in total value of direct sales, following California, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, and Washington.
- More than 82.6% of Massachusetts farms are family-owned. Over 95% fit the category of “small farms” according to the USDA definition of sales below $250,000.
- Nearly $365 million is spent by farmers statewide on inputs such as feed, seed, livestock, fertilizer, electricity and fuel.
- Massachusetts ranks 3rd in the U.S. for farmland value at $10,500 per acre.
- Massachusetts agricultural exports totaled $166.7 million and supported 3,000 jobs.
- 21.5% of farm operators in Massachusetts are female farm operators, up from 18.7% in 1997.
- Massachusetts ranks 3rd in New England in honey production at 200,000 pounds of honey.
- Massachusetts ranks 13th nationwide in organic sales with 129 farms totaling $7.8 million in sales.
Sources: New England Agricultural Statistics, 2005 and 2006; 2005 Massachusetts State Agriculture Overview; and U.S. Census of Agriculture, 2002.
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